Jaguars slam door on Tennessee State 41-34

Although Tennessee State came in with a lot of hype surrounding them, Southern banned together as a team to defeat the Tigers 41-34 Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
In what may have been their best football game of the season, Southern showed it’s never say die attitude coming back after momentum shifted time after time, finally slamming the door shut on the Tigers late in the fourth quarter.
The win pushes Southern to (4-0, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) and further proves that the young Jaguar team can battle adversity and come from behind.
“Those guys have the heart of a champion,” said Southern defensive coordinator Terrence Graves. “These guys could have folded and gave up, but they showed great testicular fortitude and played to the end.”
Southern, which often makes its mark on defense did so once again this week when junior defensive back Joe Manning intercepted TSU quarterback Antonio Heffner with 3:33 left to play.
“I told them at halftime we were going to win this football game, so we might as well get ready to go out and make it happen,” Graves said. “And that’s what we did.”
Offensively Southern enjoyed success after a sluggish first quarter, with sophomore quarterback Bryant Lee going 23-33 for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Both were career highs.
Senior running back Darren Coates rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, while junior wide receiver Del Roberts had a breakout game with six receptions, 110 yards and a touchdown.
“Overall I think the team is playing hard,” said Southern head coach Pete Richardson. “We knew we were playing well, but we had to learn how to fight back. It’s a 60-minute game. We fell behind early but methodically started to work our way back.”
Things kept going Southern’s way as the Jaguars scored 14 third quarter points, jumping out in front of TSU 32-27 before the Tigers scored a touchdown of their own to reclaim the lead, 34-32. Senior wide receiver Gerard Landry scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from Lee shortly after entering the game at the start of the third. And on the following drive, Coates ran into the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run.
At halftime TSU led Southern 27-19 behind two touchdown passes from Heffner, one rushing and a rushing touchdown from TSU running back Javarr Williams. Heffner was 8-15 for 194 yards and two scores, while Lee was 13-21 for 153 yards and two scores as well at the half. Plus, with two second quarter scores, Southern tightened a game which was 20-6 at the end of the first, pulling within eight points.
“Overall we were down,” Richardson said. “They weren’t stopping us offensively, we just had to make some stops on defense and methodically move down the field and make some plays.”
The first quarter was brutal for Southern as they gave up 20 points. Southern, which only allowed two points last week against Prairie View, surrendered three big plays resulting in Tennessee State touchdowns. The first score came on a five-play 82-yard drive that was capped with a one yard Heffner touchdown run. Then came the 61-yard bomb from Heffner to wide receiver Brandon Belvin and the 49-yard touchdown run by Williams, putting TSU ahead of Southern 20-6 at the end of the first quarter.
This was the first time Southern trailed by two scores or more all season.
And with Southern defensive back Michael Williams being picked on early by TSU’s 6-foot-3 Bevin and 6-foot-2 Chris Johnson, he gave up two big pass plays. Williams stands only 5-foot-11.
“Coach Graves told me I’m a better ball player than that,” said Williams. “He told me to get my head in the game, settle down and just let things come to me. By me being a defensive back everything isn’t going to go my way, but I just had to play my game and make plays.”
TSU had 221 yards of total offense on 19 plays, converting 3 of 4 third down attempts and holding the football 6:47. Heffner led the offensive onslaught going three of six for 133 yards and one touchdown. Brandon Belvin had one reception for 61 yards and one touchdown, while Chris Johnson had two receptions for 72 yards. Plus, Heffner and Williams both rushed for touchdown, with Williams rushing five times for 58 yards and Heffner rushing four times for 24 yards.
Lee led the Jaguars going seven of 11 for 74 yards and a touchdown. RaShon Jacobs had Southern’s only touchdown on a four-yard slant route in front of TSU’s Rodgers-Cromartie.
Next week Southern travels to Mobile, Ala. to face SWAC rival Alabama State in the Gulf Coast Classic at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Both teams are coming in (4-0) so it has all the makings to be a great game. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
Confidence Booster
True freshman kicker/punter Josh Duran put together a solid game against Tennessee State, Saturday and his clutch kick in the fourth quarter could not have come at a better time. Duran, who had been inconsistent this season cashed in when his team needed it the most, converting on a field goal attempt which put his team ahead by seven with a little less than three minutes left to play.
Duran also had five punts for an average of 40.0 yards per punt.
Career Highs
Lee hit career highs in both passing yards and touchdowns Saturday, going 23-33 for 305 yards and four scores.
“I went for four touchdowns, but I couldn’t have done it by myself,” said Lee. “The offensive line gave me protection and the running backs ran well for me tonight. That opened up the pass and the receivers just made plays.”
“Bryant is coming along but he’s still a young quarterback,” Richardson said. “We’ve got to get a running game started to help him out, and if we can do that, he’ll be ok.”
No Landry
Southern went without senior wide receiver and offensive team captain Gerard Landry in the first half of Saturday’s game as a result of his fight with a Prairie View player the week before.
With Landry missing, Southern’s offense came up with only 98 yards on 20 plays. Seventy-four of those yards came through the air with senior receiver Del Roberts leading the way with four receptions and 41 yards.
“I felt good coming into the game in the second half, because the whole time I was on the sideline, I was talking to Cromartie,” Landry said. “He’s supposed to be the draft pick, but I told him that I put on my pants one leg at a time just like you, and I’m going to give it to you all night baby.”
Rodgers-Cromartie
TSU’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is ranked as the No. 5 ranked cornerback going into next years NFL draft by Scout.com, standing at 6-foot-2 and 182 lbs. In last week’s 33-32 win over Austin Peay in overtime senior cornerback/kick returner Rodgers-Cromartie set up his offense in scoring position by blocking an extra point attempt. He almost did the same against Southern on Saturday night.
He had two tackles and two pass breakups, although Southern challenged him early when RaShon Jacobs scored on him in the first quarter and late when Landry torched him in the third.
“I let him know even though I sat the first half, I was going to give it to him when I got in there,” said Landry. “I was just talking noise, getting him out of his game, basically. And when I got in there I made something happen.”
“I think he’s an average cornerback,” Landry said. “I’ve seen better. Jarmaul George.”
Also, for the third week in a row, Rodgers-Cromartie blocked an extra point attempt. This week his block came in the fourth quarter after Del Roberts was pushed out of bounds and came back in to score on a 51-yard pass play. The block kept TSU within four of Southern at 38-34 with 10:10 to play in the final quarter.
SU-TSU
Southern senior free safety Jarmaul George and TSU’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are both on the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. The award goes to the Football Championship Subdivision’s (formerly I-AA) top defensive player. Like George, Rodgers-Cromartie was a pre-season pick for the award as well.
“Cromartie had a pretty decent game and so did I,” said George, who was named the SWAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. “I wish him the best of luck the rest of the season.”
Cromartie finished the game with two solo tackles and two pass breakups. George finished the game with three tackles and one interception, returning it for 30 yards.